Pension-related matters are both a family and national concern. The Central Financial Work Conference has identified "pension finance" as one of the "Five Major Tasks" for high-quality financial development.

To further respond to the judicial protection needs of an aging society and to promote the high-quality and diversified development of pension finance, on the occasion of the upcoming Double Ninth Festival, this afternoon (October 27), the Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court (hereinafter referred to as the Hongkou District People's Court) held a press conference to release the 2020-2025 Trial Report on Pension Finance Disputes by Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper") and typical cases related to pension finance disputes .

At the conference, Sha Xun, Vice President of the Hongkou District People's Court, reported on the trial of pension finance-related dispute cases handled by the court from 2020 to 2025. Miao Huan, Chief Judge of the Financial Division, introduced five typical cases of pension finance-related trials. Xu Yang, Head of the Political Department and spokesperson of the Hongkou District People's Court, presided over the press conference. The event was attended by municipal and district-level deputies to the people's congresses, members of the political consultative conferences, representatives from the Hongkou District Civil Affairs Bureau, financial institutions, and journalists from news media outlets.

Pension finance refers to a series of financial activities that comprehensively utilize financial instruments such as credit, insurance, bonds, equity, and wealth management to address the diverse pension needs of social members and support the development of the "silver economy".

According to the White Paper, from 2020 to 2025, the Hongkou District People's Court accepted a total of 1,184 pension finance-related dispute cases and concluded 1,154 of them.

In terms of case types, they are mainly concentrated in traditional financial fields such as banking and insurance. Among these, financing-related cases constitute the largest proportion, accounting for 82.24%. Insurance-related disputes and asset management-related disputes represent 8.67% and 7.89%, respectively.

The White Paper analyzes that pension finance-related dispute cases exhibit five characteristics: the case types are focused on traditional financial fields such as banking and insurance; the overall proportion of cases involving banking services is relatively high; the subject matter amounts of cases are mostly small; new types of cases are gradually emerging, with increasing complexity; and the mediation rate remains low.

Regarding future trends, the White Paper predicts that the number of pension finance-related disputes will gradually increase and their complexity will become increasingly prominent; however, with the improvement of financial services exclusively for the elderly population, the growth rate of disputes related to elderly bank cards is expected to narrow.

The White Paper categorizes and reviews disputes related to wealth management products, elderly-related asset management, pension insurance, and pension financing. It also highlights key challenges within the current pension financial services sector: the pension attribute of wealth management products is not sufficiently emphasized; the suitability obligation during the sale of pension asset management products is not standardized; the obligation to disclose for pension insurance is inadequately fulfilled, and consumers have misconceptions; the strict liability for breach of financing contracts hampers the long-term development of the pension industry.

Based on judicial practice and industry status, the White Paper proposes four targeted recommendations: comprehensively upgrading the elderly-friendliness of financial services to enhance accessibility; enhancing the value-preserving and appreciation functions of pension financial products, shortening the lock-up period, and increasing liquidity; constructing a diversified and long-term patient capital supply system to address the operational difficulties of the pension industry; and strengthening financial consumer protection with a focus on the elderly population.

The five typical cases reported at the conference cover dispute types such as property damage compensation, life insurance contracts, service contracts, and tort liability, revealing common legal disputes from different perspectives and clarifying corresponding adjudication rules and behavioral guidelines.

For example, in one case, Fang, upon recommendation by Bank A, invested CNY 10 million to subscribe to a certain asset management plan. After redeeming it two years later, Fang suffered a principal loss of over CNY 2.7 million. As a professional financial institution, Bank A failed to accurately prepare external product introductions, and its customer manager violated regulations by writing risk awareness content on behalf of the client without authorization. Considering the degree of fault of both parties, the people's court determined that Bank A shall compensate Fang for 60% of the principal loss. The judgment clarified that financial institutions must fulfill obligations to understand clients, understand products, and conduct appropriate sales when promoting wealth management products. Any inconsistencies between promotional materials and contract content, as well as actions such as operating on behalf of clients, will be deemed as a failure to fulfill duties, and compensation liability will be borne according to the degree of fault.

In another case, Li purchased a certain pension annuity insurance (with dividends). Five years later, Li sued the insurance company to the people's court, alleging that the salesperson engaged in fraudulent and misleading behavior, and requesting the revocation of the insurance contract and the refund of the premiums already paid. The people's court ruled that the insurance company had fully informed Li of the uncertainty of dividend distribution, and therefore, the people's court would not support the claim to revoke the contract on the grounds of a material misunderstanding of the dividend content. This case emphasizes that if financial institutions have fully fulfilled their risk disclosure obligations through various means, the contract is binding on consumers, and consumers must take responsibility for their own actions. "Seller's due diligence" is the prerequisite for "buyer's self-responsibility."

Pension finance, an essential part of the pension security system, bears the crucial task of meeting the people's growing demand for pension wealth accumulation and serving the construction of a multi-tiered pension insurance system.

This press conference focused on practical issues in the field of pension finance-related disputes, systematically reviewed trial data, analyzed typical cases, and strengthened risk warnings. It helps to foster social consensus through the "window" of judicial adjudication, jointly creating an honest, trustworthy, fair, orderly, safe, and stable ecological environment for pension finance.

Representative Comments

Xu Xin, Deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, Deputy General Manager of the Centralized Operations Center, China Mobile Communications Group Shanghai Co., Ltd.

Currently, China's social aging process is accelerating, and the pension finance market is flourishing, with related disputes gradually becoming prominent. This White Paper fully demonstrates the high sense of responsibility and judicial commitment of the people's courts in serving the overall situation, safeguarding people's livelihood, and maintaining social stability. It conducts an in-depth analysis of emerging disputes related to pension finance and transforms judicial adjudication results into vivid legal popularization materials through the approach of "typical cases + risk warnings," reflecting a shift from "post-event resolution" to "pre-event prevention." It provides valuable decision-making references for promoting governance in related fields.

Wang Qing, Deputy to the Hongkou District People's Congress of Shanghai, Special Supervisor of the Hongkou District People's Court, Director of the Elderly Care Service Development Center of Hongkou District, Shanghai

Optimizing and improving the legal environment for pension finance requires the joint efforts from government departments, financial regulatory authorities, judicial organs, and financial market entities. This White Paper systematically summarizes four prominent issues in the pension finance service industry, providing not only a highly valuable risk map and action guide but also prompting us to place the construction of a diversified elderly care service system in a more prominent position. It is hoped that through multi-party collaboration, we can jointly build a "firewall" for elderly care rights and interests and jointly create a happy vision of a secure and comfortable old age.

Gao Zhilei, Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Hongkou District, Shanghai, Special Supervisor of the Hongkou District People's Court, Senior Partner of Shanghai Everbright Law Firm

The White Paper meticulously reviews the types, characteristics, and causes of pension finance-related dispute cases, accurately grasping new situations and issues in the pension finance field, and providing important judicial guidance for regulating pension finance development. In particular, the relevant recommendations for promoting the healthy and sound development of pension finance, including comprehensively upgrading the elderly-friendly level of financial services and constructing a diversified and long-term patient capital supply system to address operational difficulties in the elderly care industry, are highly relevant in reality. It is hoped that the people's courts can continue to deepen their extended judicial functions and actively participate in grassroots social governance.

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